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Avocado PA

Kelly Victoria Thorn

Kelly Victoria ThornI started Avocado PA Ltd in 2003 with the slightly idealistic intention of becoming a successful entrepreneur with freedom and a life …

I can see you all clutching your sides in laughter at that comment (daft Yorkshire woman!).  Of course, you all know that running your own business and having a life aren’t always compatible. 

However, it quickly became apparent that my skill is in doing just that.  I give my clients their lives back.  My sole purpose and that of my team, is to make our clients' lives easier.  How we achieve that is a joint effort between Avocado and the client to find proactive and effective solutions to business problems.

A bit of background 

Yes, I’m a Yorkshire lass, but don’t let that put you off, I’ve since developed some sense and moved everything to Brisbane (hmm - not sure about the ‘sense’ thing!, although the sun is fantastic). 

Born in Halifax and educated at Sowerby Bridge High School.  I then qualified as a veterinary nurse at Edinburgh’s Telford College.  I spent three rewarding years up to my elbows in various animal orifices.

I embarked on a lengthy period of freelance paralegal, legal secretarial and fee earning work.  Disillusioned with the legal sector, I dipped a toe into conferencing and events, and then recruitment, before coming to the not-too-startling conclusion that working for myself permanently was the way forward.

Since then I have embarked on phase 2 of world domination, which has included realising my dream of an international Avocado and qualifying as a Fitness Specialist, which I finally did in December 2008.  Never stop learning, that's my motto...

So enough about me, what about you?

 

 

More about Kelly Victoria Thorn

  • Experience

  • Interests

  • Skills

  • Education

Managing Director, Avocado PA - August 2003 to Present

Provision of Executive PA services to client companies and individuals.

Full business management, including call handling, diary management, invoicing and account management, client contact, correspondence and all organisational tasks, including travel arrangements and event management.

Specialist medical and legal services.


Executive Legal Assistant, Stripes Solicitors - August 2003 to January 2004

Contract postion.

Provision of legal PA services to Dan Geller, head of personal injury.

Worked from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. daily and ran Avocado PA during the day.


Company Secretary & HR Manager, Specialist Recruitment Group - February 2003 to August 2003

Contract position.

Full HR and management function of five recruitment agencies under the SRG banner.

Responsible for office relocation, staff recruitment and training and legal services.


Office Manager and PA to MD, Keynote Eductational - February 2002 to February 2003

Contract position.

Hire and train staff, office relocation.  Organisation and co-ordination of over 200 weekly day courses, including venue, speaker, and delegates.


Various Law Firms, North West Region - 1997 - 2002

Provision of consultant fee earner, para-legal and legal PA services to various law firms in north-west.

My interests include:

Lampworking - the art of creating glass beads from glass rods.  My teacher and client, Tracy Brown's (from Wildlight Studios, Brisbane) website will give you an idea of what this entails. Beware, it's addictive.

Muay Thai - I have been training in martial arts since I was 13 when I started with Karate (Dai Ichi Ryu, Bushido Ryu and Shotokan).

Pilates - I am a qualified Pilates instructor.

General fitness - given that I am now a fitness specialist, I am happily applying all my newly acquired knowledge every time I go to the gym.

Scuba diving - am currently undertaking the PADI qualification.

I am an avid reader, usually business related during the day and novels by night.  Would highly recommend The e-Myth and The e-Myth revisited (Michael E. Gerber) and Ishmael and My Ishmael.

When I'm not doing all that, I'm spending time with my cat and my partner.

IT Skills

Advanced Microsoft Office capability.

Internet research.

Professional PowerPoint presentation.

eBook Production.

Template creation.


Web Skills

Knowledge of HTML code.

CMS specialist - including Joomla and Joomla Templates.

Website maintenance and content.


Software

Adobe PhotoShop, Illustrator and InDesign.

e-Newsletters (Constant Contact and Newzapp)

Remote Access Software

FrontPage

DreamWeaver

ExpressScribe

Inscribe

EMDAT

Sage

QuickBooks

Act

FTP e.g. Filezilla, CuteFTP

Certificate in Pilates Instruction, Brisbane - December 2009

Qualified as Pilates Instructor.


Diploma Fitness, AIAS, Brisbane - February 2008 to December 2008

Qualified as a fitness specialist with 96% pass rate.


On-Line Coaching Course, Manchester Metropolitan University - July 2006

Provision of online mentoring to small business startups.


The Language of Influence, Salad Training - February 2006

Two day NLP training course.

Multimedia Marketing, Online - April 2005

Six week online multimedia e-marketing course.


Creative Web Design - 2004

8 week web design course.

Utilising HTML, Photoshop, DreamWeaver.


Sage Accounts, Manchester - May 2003

4 day stage 1 and 2 Sage Line 50 accounts package course.


Sage Accounts, Manchester - March 2003

Book-keeping course.


Diploma Veterinary Nursing, Telford, Edinburgh - 1994 to 1997

Qualified wtih a diploma in veterinary nursing from Telford College, Edinburgh